Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-03-11
Housekeeping Pesrp,

Complaints are made from various sec
tions Of band of baking powder trGmps
whose tricks uJon unsuspecting house
keepers seem to partake very much of tie
nature of confidence operations. The
oand IS composed of women, although
employed and directed by an agent Oft
other sex, and their methods CT PROCEED
ure, as explained by several ladies' who
have been victimlZ5d, Is as i0il1wsf o.
tanning access to the kitchen, theyintrO-
dnca the subject Of baking powders,
inqui:e the kind used il the family.
Being SHOWN the can. perhapsR fresh.
full one. they volunteer 70 "test"
Is % ASCERTAIN lis qualities. Iaeir "test"
consists il, placing the can on 8 hot stove
or ever lamp or gas is1, OF in mixing
TIE baking powder with w&ter bolh not
aad colo. II the baking p0wGer Is good
tDr anything the heat VIII. f course, eX-
pei the gas, Which, being ammoniacsI CT
carbOniC, IS apparent t. the sense of
smell. The claim is then made that this
cG0r indicates something detrimental,
although. as matter II fact, Z baking
powder that would give IF nc 2as when
subjected 10 heal would BE- without
leavsnin@ power and YaIueIess. They
WI AASO lila zsSAiS C0N4A2 HONbCl S4FCA
them with water. If pure, II
effeTyesces quickly. The baking powder
they peddle being similarly mixed loans
up slowly like Yeast, standing, perhaps,
over the top of the glass This they
claim as evidence of superiority, whereas
it is the exhibition If trick only, their
baking powder having been specially pre-
pared 10 make this test by the addition Of
HNnr a lhnsnan &c aNri
deICe of adulteratioa. OF course the OBJ
jeCt OF these fraudulent tricks is to de-
strOy confidence IN all other kinds OF
baking powder, and to sell the particular
br nd for which the women are travelling.
Were this the whole of the operation,
housekeepers would not often be de-
CeiVed. Every intelligent person knows
that baking powder is not made to be
used in this way, but IN cooking where
its action is entirely different from that
produced by dry heat OF by mixture with
water 9lOne. The chief object Of this
juggleIY is to destroy the baking powder
gwen for testing; or by heating It
to drive of it's leavening gases, and so
weaken 1t that when used it Will fail to
work. At the next baking there is heavy
food, OF course, and the tramp" proba-
bly, gets the credit Of having told the
housekeeper valuable TACT, Instead of
having spoilJ her baking powder, rs was
actually the case. The average tramp
viii, in this way, destroy from fifty to
scventy-tiye pounds of baking powder q
day.
a second method OF spOilingfoT use the
baking powder in q kitchen where they
ere not permitted to experiment. with il,
is by deX.erOUsiy throwing in the can 3
small quantity Of salt, soda o. powdered
lime. Again, should there chance to be no
baking powder in the house, the opera
tors Will produce, OF the KIND used by the
family, Il sample that hiss been pIrposely
&dulterated or "docto,ed" to make such
IN exhibit as they desire under the So
called test.
The only way to protect our food from
being contaminated by tramps of this
kind is 20 turn all persons WHO wish OF
attempt 10 camper with it UDceremOnious-
~ from the door, and to use those arti-
cies only which experience has proved
satisfactory, or the official tests have es-
tablished as pure and wholesome.